Actor Cho Jun-young zeroed in on his "next level."
Cho Jun-young gave a wrap-up interview for the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama Spring Fever (writer Kim Ah-jung, director Park Won-guk, planned by CJ ENM STUDIOS, produced by Bon Factory) at the OSEN building in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 9th.
Spring Fever is a drama that depicts a hot-pink romance of spring days that will melt the frozen hearts of teacher Yoon Bom (Lee Joo-been), who feels the cold wind blowing, and the man with a burning heart, Sun Jae-gyu (Ahn Bo-hyun). As of the fourth week of airing it recorded a cumulative 410 million views, achieving one of the highest results among tvN Monday-Tuesday dramas aired since 2025, and episode 12 recorded an average 5.7% viewership on paid platforms nationwide combining cable, IPTV and satellite (based on paid platforms combining cable, IPTV and satellite, provided by Nielsen Korea).
Spring Fever ended its grand finale after episode 16, which aired on the 9th, and Cho Jun-young gave a passionate performance as Seon Han-gyeol in the series. Noted from his debut for his tall height, deer-like eyes and unique visuals like a romance comic protagonist, Cho Jun-young, who appeared in Live On, Crushology 101 and Spirit Fingers!, showed not only a sync rate that surpasses the original in Spring Fever but also, despite being a rookie, a stable mid-to-low vocal tone, precise diction and emotional acting, stamping himself as a youth-genre icon.
At 187 cm with clear eyes, actor Cho Jun-young has long been called a byword for "youth" since his debut. His filmography is filled with the growing pains of bright young men. But after the drama ended, the Cho Jun-young I met was ready to take off the boy's clothes and write the story of a "real man." He said, "I like youth stories, but now I want to take off the school uniform and show a rougher, more mature side," expressing his determined ambition.
Among fans, Cho Jun-young is so closely associated with school dramas that there's a running joke that "his personal color is a school uniform." He did not deny it. When asked which school uniform he remembered most, he recalled, "Probably the red uniform I wore in Spirit Fingers was the most striking, so it sticks in my memory." In this Spring Fever, the comfortable style focused on summer uniforms made it feel more like everyday clothes than a school uniform. He said, "I'm grateful for the freshness that school uniforms bring, but now that I'm past my mid-20s, I want to show the weight of an adult actor," he confessed.
The "next level" Cho Jun-young dreams of is action and noir. He craves characters with a texture completely opposite to the always kind and pure "Seon Han-gyeol." Cho Jun-young's eyes lit up as he said, "I want to take on action roles that use the body and noir genres that express emotions harshly. Or I want to show a smart, cold image like a professional role," He showed the will to broaden his acting spectrum and become an "irreplaceable actor," not remaining simply a "handsome actor."
The preparation is already complete. He maintains a condition that can take on new roles at any time through strict self-management. He is such a fitness fanatic that he and his friends make bets like "if you don't exercise more than a set number of times per week, you pay a fine." He keeps a solid, muscular physique by removing body fat even in the off-season and maintaining his target weight. The abdominal scene that became a topic in this drama was also the result of this consistency. He showed a professional side, saying, "You never know what role might come, so I think an actor should always be prepared in body and mind."
Beyond acting, he has a strong desire to reach the public. Now living alone after moving out recently, he also expressed interest in appearing on the variety show I Live Alone. Cho Jun-young said with a shy smile, "I'd like to show the natural daily life of the person Cho Jun-young rather than a staged image. I'm worried I might be uninteresting because I'm not good with words, but if I have the chance I'd like to honestly show myself as I am," His attitude choosing communication over mystique showed his affection for fans.
In 2026, the keyword Cho Jun-young picked for this year is "discovery." He emphasized, "I hope it will be a year where I find many new faces of myself that even I didn't know. I want to keep transforming so that the public might be surprised and ask, 'Did Cho Jun-young have that look?' or 'Did he have that fierce side?'."
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